Rose Colored Glasses
by RemianDemian
Summary: 'A Shameless Display' 'An overcooked Runt' 'A defective Pearl' But through Rose-colored glasses they're something else.
1. Chapter 1

"Is that weird?" Ruby Asked, looking down at her feet dangling off of the rock she was sitting on with Sapphire

"No! I think so too."

"Really?"

"Really! We've fused before it's good! We're better that way...something more than just you and me." Sapphire smiled.

"But the last time we fused we weren't together, not really. and people are going to-" Ruby struggled for the words.

"-Does it matter what people think?" Sapphire asked. "all that matters to me is what _you _ think and what'll make _us _happy...what'll make her happy."

Ruby nodded. "then let's do it." She looked at Sapphire, smiling widely Sapphire smiled and leaned over kissing her gently before letting Ruby hop off the rock and lift her off of it spinning her around-earning a laugh from the blue gem-and setting her down only to dip her, both of them closing their eyes

She opened her eyes and stood up, looking herself over. she could hear whispers of their last words to each other in her ears

_"I love you."_

_"you're wonderful."_

"I love me. I'm wonderful." she said, blinking her eyes. She smiled, then laughed.

"I'm Garnet!" She felt perfect. this felt perfect. She started running. not because she needed to but because she could. back toward her home, back toward the gem city Ruby and Sapphire lived in. It was fortunate the pair lived together, Garnet didn't want two homes.

She only needed one home now. One place to work and to live and to sleep if she felt like it and one place for them both and for herself.

Together. and Alone. All the same now. All wonderful.

* * *

It should've been that easy. But it hadn't been.

There weren't that many gems on this part of this planet yet. few enough that people knew who Ruby and Sapphire were.

Enough that they questioned why the two of them were fused. Fusion was a way to become stronger. why did they need to be stronger? Besides, given their relationship Fusion wasn't really appropriate, was it?

Garnet didn't get it. Gems who hardly knew one another fused all the time when the extra power or strength or whatever the fusion caused was needed and no one thought twice.

But when Ruby and Sapphire fused it became something else. Something inappropriate for public?

She could've become a recluse. She wanted to become a recluse if it meant that She could be what Ruby and Sapphire dreamed of when they became her.

But they took her home-the home belonging to Sapphire where Ruby lived with her. Garnet came so close to being angry at that and tried to force her way back.

"You can't take this from me! It's my home!" That was the first time she summoned her weapon.

It didn't go well when two gems her own size grabbed her wrists at seeing her about to hit the gem who took care of the building she lived in and who was barring the door.

Other gems joined in in trying to keep Garnet both from entering the building or from walking away, watching, learning what was going on.

Garnet had to listen to other gems say who they thought she was.

'A Rogue fusion'

'two confused idiots'

'A pathetic display'

'Revolting'

'Wrong'

"I'm not!" She tried to hit someone, lashing out now.

She could've beaten a few of them. but not so many. Why were gems so awful sometimes? She ended up with her wrists held again, trying to pry her hands open, to get at her gems

_They'll damage them!_

_What if they damage you!_

_I'm fine-We're fine!_

_We're not fine! you come first before Us-Before me!? _Garnet knew she was wavering.

She felt herself fall apart, leaving two gems.

* * *

Ruby kicked and thrashed and screamed. They weren't trying to hurt Sapphire anymore.

But they were pulling them apart!

"STOP IT! LET ME GO TO HER! LET GO!" Ruby found herself held-more securely know that she was smaller.

"Why? So you can _fuse _again?"

"You're better separate."

"We're helping you."

"Ruby!" Ruby was fighting the hands holding her and now tears as she looked to Sapphire, too far away-she couldn't reach her!

She saw the edges of a flash of light behind her

* * *

Pearl watched quietly As Rose looked over the two gems she had brought back. Apparently the pair-two smallish Gems who seemed very protective of each other-had been basically being mobbed and dragged apart.

Rose took care of that and had given Pearl a bag of gems to place somewhere safe and a good distance away for when they came back.

But it could wait a few more minutes.

"What are your names?"

"Ruby."

"Sapphire."

"I'm Rose, and that's Pearl." Pearl waved timidly. "What happened back there? Are you both alright."

"Yeah, we're fine now. You're okay, right?" Ruby looked at Sapphire worriedly.

"Of course." She smiled and held Ruby's hand, able to feel their gems touching. Sapphire looked up at Rose. "thank you for helping us."

"You're welcome, but I ma still curious-what provoked them to act that way?"

"...I guess we could show you."

Rose looked confused but nodded and watched quietly. So did pearl as the two gems danced. Their dance struck pearl as odd almost. not really a dance and very short. Like they'd done this a thousand times.

Rose saw it and thought of how well they most know each other to dance that way to fuse.

She smiled at the Gem in front of her, meeting the gaze of her three eyes. "And what's your name?"

"I'm Garnet." Rose was told. "And I want to stay Garnet-We want to stay Garnet. Always. We're happier like that."

"Happier?!" Pearl spluttered. "but you-but they-you can't just use fusion as coupley bonding thing it's n-"

"-pearl may I have a moment alone with Garnet?" Pearl nodded and left, hoping she knew what Rose was doing-explaining just what was so inappropriate to that confused pair.

* * *

_I'm stronger now. If she tells me I'm bad I can get out of here._

"I know I'm not-"

"You're amazing." Rose said softly She held Garnet's hands looking at her gems. "They much love each other very much, don't they?"

Garnet was stunned. She nodded. "Yeah. more than anything."

"I can't even imagine loving someone that much. Enough that you'll give up everything you are to make something even more wonderful than the two of you with them." She looked up at Garnet smiling at her. "How special you are-probably the strongest fusion I've seen."

"Strong?" Garnet shook her head. "not really." she was stronger than Ruby and Sapphire but there were fusions Garnet had seen that were stronger than herself.

"Yes really! What can be stronger than a fusion made of love?" Rose asked her. "you're not just a means to an end like most fusions are. Fusion was a means to an end with you as the End. Your own person. Both of them and everything they are and have together and between them. Is that right?"

Ruby cried easily. Sapphire didn't

Garnet was like Sapphire normally. But she knew she was crying now. Someone _understood. _ Someone knew exactly why she had to be Garnet.

Rose smiled and ran her hands in front of Garnet's eyes, a set of glasses left behind. "Garnet you can stay here. I'd love for you to stay here...but know that it won't be that safe. I'm not really a normal gem. you see...I'm trying to make the gems leave this planet. To stop hurting it."

"...how can I help?"

"You don't have to. I'm just warning that you may be put in the line of fire."

"I want to help though." If Rose could see How Garnet felt about herself then Maybe Rose was right about more things.

And through time and patience and effort Garnet found that Rose was right.

She was Garnet

She was Wonderful

And She loved herself


	2. Chapter 2

Pearl#24601

Not so bad really. Most people just called her 'Pearl' since she didn't work much around other pearls. Just shut away in her little room writing up blueprints, crunching numbers and reading and reading and reading some more. She had to be smart for all the gems she served who didn't have the time to be smart for themselves

Not like anyone really expected much from her yet anyway, she was still young. Still learning.

"What are you doing?!"

Well maybe there were some expectations. Pearl looked up to see a familiar face glaring at her. a gem named Onyx. one of her many, many, supreriors.

"Ah, um, nothing?" Pearl said, hiding the weapon she'd managed to pull from Onyx behind her back fairly unsuccessfully.

"What is this?" the weapon was yanked from her and looked over. "A weapon? What is a pearl doing with a weapon?"

"Well I ah, I summoned it. I wanted to learn and-" she was cut off by the gem in front of her laughing before snapping the staff Pearl had made in two. Pearl cringed.

"You don't need this-you aren't a fighter, get back to your work. Do you know how much trouble you could get in?"

"...yes." Pearl looked down.

"Do you know how lucky you are? Here, working in a nice little office where you can let that perfect mind of yours run free all day-would you rather be like other pearls? work as a servant? or in an assembly line? or a kindergarten?"

Pearl rapidly shook her head. "No! No, not at all...I'm grateful. really." Pearl promised frantically.

"Are you? Maybe you don't deserve this? Any of this." Pearl kept shaking her head. She'd made them angry. Oh no...

ten minutes later Onyx walked out, leaving the room a wreck and Pearl left fighting tears as she picked it up. so many of these project and reports ruined...and all due so soon...

All because she'd tried to do something that wasn't assigned her. something pearls weren't meant to do.

But if had been such a little thing! It wasn't fair...

It wasn't right.

She wiped her eyes and kept cleaning, not having the time to stop and cry. she never had any spare time. not to wash or eat or drink or sleep. or cry.

Not that she needed any of that! No, she could keep working. after all, that's why she was here. that's why pearls were farmed.

To work. Not to fight. To think. But not too hard.

"What happened here?"

Pearl scrambled to her feet, wiping her eyes and immediately bowing when she saw who was addressing her. "ah, um, i uh, I tripped and-"

"Now surely you didn't make this mess on your own." Pearl just barely dared to straighten up and watch the Gem who so lightly entered her room, looking around at the wreck. "Who did this?"

"No, Your Highness it was only me! Ju-"

"Who did this?" She repeated, more forcefully. Pearl looked down.

"Onyx. But it's fine. I can fix it. I'm used to it."

"...But shouldn't have to be." Pearl looked up, confused.

"You shouldn't have to be used to people tossing you about like this...you must've worked s hard on all of this." the gem before her knelt down to pick up strewn items and Pearl stuttered.

"No I can get it!" she insisted. "your high-"

"Rose please." she told Pearl. "Rose Quartz."

"Rose...quartz?"Quartz were common gems.

This was no common gem.

"Yes. Rose." she repeated. "Now, what made Onyx so upset with you?"

"...I summoned a weapon."

"Show me."

"w-what?!"

"Show me."

Pearl hesitated before closing her eyes and letting her gem glow.

she managed to pull it out of her gem. a long, sharp staff. Pearl gripped the staff tightly, worried.

But Rose just smiled. "you're incredible." she told Pearl "absolutely incredible-too incredible to leave wasting away in here." Rose had been kneeling back on the floor but got up and went to Pearl. "come with me."

"Where?" Pearl asked.

"You'll see." she told her. "Trust me. you'll love it."

Rose was right.

She took her to a grand temple converted into a dwelling. Impressive from many, many aspects. Pearl looked around, awed.

"This is amazing!"

"This is where I live." Rose said.

"Not with the other Diamonds?" Pearl asked, looking at Rose. Rose shook her head.

"No. Not anymore...Pearl were you grown here?"

Pearl shook her head. "Oh no, I'm from Homeworld-they brought me here recently...I miss it."

Rose smiled sadly. "I do too. But Earth is nice, It's lovely-oh! And the people who live here are wonderful. I would never have imagined any kind of organic life to be so...so incredible."

"Organic?" Pearl asked, surprised.

Rose nodded and then looked Pearl over.

"How much have you been out of that room since you were brought here?"

"Well, Never." Pearl Replied. "They didn't need me anywhere else."

"Then I have something else to show you."

* * *

Pearl had been told about Kindergartens. She'd even helped design equipment for them.

But she wasn't ready to one. It was immense and impressive-looking but horrible-cutting deep into the earth and surrounded by things dying from the chemicals and machines used there...the ground about littered with dead plants and bones.

They were killing this planet's natural inhabitants.

"This isn't right." Pearl said, watching the trolls in the ravine below work

Rose nodded. "You're right. This isn't like other places gems have colonized. Earth has Organic life. And some of it's sentient. And we're killing it"

Rose looked to Pearl "I'm planning to stop it Myself and some others said they'd join me...do you want to join us too?"

"To do what?" Pearl asked, looking at her. All she could do was what she'd been taught and read about...what could she do to help Rose?

"Whatever you want and whatever we need-I'll teach you whatever you need to know-like how to use that staff of yours."

"Yes, yes I'll help!" Pearl agreed. Rose smiled and held out her hand again.

"Well come on then-my Pearl." hearing her say that made Pearl smile as she took Rose's hand and followed her

And for the first time in her life Pearl believed that maybe-Maybe-she was worth more than just to sit in a room and do the work provided her. Maybe she could change something.

Maybe she could keep making Rose smile.

And that would continue to be her greatest belief and her greatest desire for centuries to come

She could Be and learn whatever she wanted. She wasn't Limited by being a Pearl. She'd been given a chance to be something more

She was still Pearl, yes, but now she was a Gem. and to her that was the most amazing thing one could be.

Life finally felt right.


	3. Chapter 3

Amethyst was kinda used to being alone.

when the Gems had emptied the Kindergarten she had tried to go with. She could still remember a larger gem shoving her to the ground, sneering and not letting her up.

Not letting her follow or get into the ship and leave.

She had to watch everyone else go knowing it was because they thought something was wrong with her. Nothing was wrong with her! Maybe she was smaller, Maybe she took more risks...maybe her weapon-her whips-weren't the most powerful thing a gem from this Kindergarten...maybe they thought she was stupid and weird...but did that really mean they had to leave her behind?

Was she that much of a screw up?

She mostly just stayed curled up in her hole or walking around kicking rocks or climbing on them. She was bored.

And lonely.

One day she wandered further than normal. To the point where she considered not going back.

Something made a rustling noise and Amethyst looked around. "Hello? Someone's there...right?"

Nothing. Then the sound of something screeching and rocks falling.

Amethyst ran toward the noise wondering if maybe she finally wasn't alone.

"HEY! is someone th-" She began, turning a corner.

she was knocked over by something taking a swipe at her. She looked up and saw a monster towering over her a thousand snakelike limbs writhing about it. One shot toward her and she rolled out of the way, pulling out her whips and lashing out at it.

But despite every strike she made-actually managing to sever a lot of the tentacles it kept coming at her until one wrapped about her, pinning her arms to her side.

"SET ME DOWN! YOU PIECE OF-LET GO!" Amethyst screeched, thrashing about to no avail.

Then she fell, something had severed the appendages holding her. She hit the ground roughly, but not roughly enough to send her back into her gem.

She scrambled to her feet, looking up and watching. three people were fighting the monster

Three...Three gems? They were working pretty hard...but they still seemed to be losing.

Amethyst noticed something. A gem int he center of the writhing mass.

She got up, grabbed her whips and lunged for it, only for one of the gems-the pale, lanky one-to grab her by her ankle and pull her away. "Stay out of this!"

"But there's a gem in there!"

"We know. Stay out of the way." She told her bluntly and jumped, aiming to hit quite near to that gem.

Amethyst growled frustratedly and moved to try to attack again, lashing out and succeeding in that, her whips wrapping around to of the tentacles as she yanked on them, trying to rip them off. She did manage to tear one off, letting it fall to the groun and shatter as it had become rigid and fragile the moment it broke off.

Amethyst grinned and wrapped her whips around another. She got through two more before-between her efforts the efforts of the other three gems-the monster retreated into its gem, left as nothing more than a greenish-brown rock.

"WHOOOP! WE GOT IT Oh yeah, we are the best!" Amethyst's celebrating was interrupted though

"Who are you?" one of the gems-one who kept her eyes hidden and was a strange redish color-asked.

"Uh, Amethyst? I live here?" She huffed, crossing her arms. However since she was still holdign her whips that ended with her lashing herself int he face.

"Ow!"

"You live here? in this place?" Amethyst stopp rubbing her face long enough to look up at a tall, large, pink gem.

"Yeah I just said that, didn't I? But how are _you_ here? I thought I was the only one they left b-The only one who stayed."

"Other gems left you here?" The pale, skinny one asked.

"...Yeah so what? I've been fine, they were all pricks anyway. Now answer my question-how and why are you here?" Amethyst demanded.

The Pink One knelt down to be Amethyst's height, or well, closer to it at least.

"We're the Crystal Gems. We Live here on Earth and protect it. Mostly by making sure corrupted gems like that poor one we just took are of aren't left about to hurt anyone-After all, now that Earth's native have their planet back they deserve to be safe from gems...I don't suppose you'd like to join us?"

"I don't even know who you are." Amethyst huffed. "For all I know you're the people who drove the other Gems off the planet-wait you are! Aren't you! You're the reason I was alone!" Amethyst knew she was probably jumping to conclusions but from the guilty looks she was getting she was willing to bet she was right.

"Yes." The Pink One Admitted. "Yes we did-We had no idea they'd leave anyone behind though."

"Well they did." Amethyst shouted. "They wouldn't let me come and I've been trapped in that stupid kindergarten all alone because of _YOU!"_

"You're right." Rose said softly. Amethyst stopped, confused. "It's my fault. I'm so sorry. I did an awful thing to you. Please forgive me."

"Rose you don't have to-" Began the Pale one.

"No." The Pink one-Rose?-told her. She looked back to the small purple gem. "I'm sorry You've been alone. But you're very strong, you know. To not have been corrupted all this time." Amethyst felt confused by her sincere apology, and the way it made her fear and anger melt away. "We'll leave you alone if you want. But you're welcome to come with us...I don't like the idea of leaving you alone out here and there's plenty of space for you in the temple."

"..." Amethyst nodded. "Okay. I want to come." she said, speaking quietly and looking up at this strange Gem who smiled down at her.

"I'm Rose." she told her. "And this is Garnet, and that's Pearl. Come on, it's not far to the transporter and then we can show you around the temple." Rose extended a hand to the child-like gem. Amethyst just started at it for a moment before seizing it tightly and smiling, walking along with the three and talking with them.

It didn't take long to adjust to being around the others, to having friends and teammates and hearing people say her name.

Amethyst wasn't sure if it was luck or coincidence or fate that lead her to meet Rose and The Crystal Gems, but what she did know was this:

She never had to be alone again.


End file.
